Last month saw the release of musician Milli Major’s critically acclaimed debut short film ‘Major Paper’. While the gripping short film showcases the brutal reality of gang culture, through its very existence, the film is a testament to the art that can be created when talents rise above their circumstances.

Just as impressive is the film’s soundtrack. Featuring artists such as Armz Korleone, Tempa T, Scrufizzer, Nines, Bossman Birdie, Paper Pabs and many more, Milli Major has merged both veteran musicians and newcomers to produce a soundtrack that transcends musical generations. The soundtrack is set to release on September 11 and available for pre-order HERE.

Last week Major released a new music video for single ‘Madness’ taken from the Major Paper soundtrack. The track features Deepee, Tion Wayne & Big Narstie and amassed over 100k views within its first days of release. Hot on the heels of this success, we caught up with Milli Major to find out more.

 

It’s great to see the atmosphere in the behind the scenes video, how did it feel to have so many people behind you to support your vision?

Milli Major: I feel grateful because I’ve had projects before which I’ve worked hard on and had no support. To have all this support, I feel like it’s a significant achievement. It’s been out a day and is already on 100k views.

 

Do you have as much input in the music video as you did for Major Paper?

Milli Major: Definitely! With every music video, I’m both in front of the camera and behind it co-directing. I’m there helping with the treatments, and I’m very heavily involved with the whole creative process.

 

You worked with many young artists on the soundtrack, with every genre, there are substantial generational gaps with every era. What was it like to bridge that gap?

Milli Major: For me, a lot fo the older grime MCs don’t like me and are salty with mad chips on their shoulders. So I relate a lot of the rappers who are coming up, and they can relate to my music and my sound. That’s why I think everything transcended this project, and we created something that broke down that generation barrier.

 

Check out this special behind the scene movie from the Madness video shoot 

 

What idea came first, the soundtrack or the film?

Milli Major: I’m a musician, so I’m always creating music no matter what I. No matter what creative project I put out, it always starts with the music. It doesn’t matter if say I created a pair of trainers or whatever, the root of everything with me is music.

 

What made you decide to release the project as a short film?

Milli Major: I was sitting down one day, and I wanted to create something bigger than myself and for the culture. I wanted to do something that doesn’t just revolve around me, and I knew that if I created a film, I could get other people from the culture involved too. I didn’t want everything to be centred around me, and I wanted to create something that brought together many of the people I know. There’s actors, filmmakers, models who I know that are involved and you might not see them in part one, but you will do later.

 

 

Watch: Major Paper – a Film by Milli Major

You called this part one, does this mean we will be part two?

Milli Major: Definitely! Part two is going to be even bigger and better. Before this I’ve never spoken about doing anything with film, I remember my drama teacher in school saying that I’d never get into drama school and stuff, but I came up with this idea and ran with it. I feel privileged to be able to do this because when I first started telling people about the concept, they were telling me that I would never be able to get it done.

 

What would you say was the sort of the biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome when creating the project?

Milli Major: I needed to learn to not cry over spilt milk and instead to just get on with things. When you’re so involved, it’s easy to get caught up in what’s going wrong and lose focus. For this project, I didn’t have time to be distracted by the people who let me down or things that didn’t go right – I just had to keep it moving. I’m very passionate about my work, but I had to keep moving, and that was a lesson I had to learn this project.

 

 

If you could go back to the early days of your career and give yourself some advice, what would it be?

Milli Major: I would tell myself to keep my mouth shut. At the start of my career, I was going after everyone because I thought that’s how you had to be to get ahead. I said a lot of things about people that I didn’t need to.

What is your FAULT?

Milli Major: I tell too many people my business.